David Van Slyke
Dean, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University
Management and Governance
Contact Information
David Van Slyke
Dean, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University
Management and Governance
Contact Information
David M. Van Slyke is Dean of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and the Louis A. Bantle Chair in Business-Government Policy. Prior to becoming Dean on July 1, 2016, Van Slyke was Associate Dean and Chair of Maxwell’s department of public administration and international affairs. He is a tenured, full professor of the Maxwell School and a two-time recipient of the Birkhead-Burkhead Award and Professorship for Teaching Excellence.
Van Slyke is a leading international expert on public-private partnerships, public sector contracting and contract management, public and nonprofit management, and policy implementation. He is a member of the Defense Business Board (2020, 2021-Present), a former Director (2015-2021) and Fellow (2010-) of the National Academy of Public Administration, a member of the National Academy of Public Administration’s Expert Advisory team for the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Homeland Security (2021-2022), and a former co-editor of the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory and the Journal of Strategic Contracting and Negotiation. He is actively engaged in the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration, the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs, and the University Leadership Council on Diversity and Inclusion in International Affairs Education. He is the co-chair (with Dr. Susan Gooden) of a Volcker Alliance-NASPAA working group on addressing structural racism in public affairs and served as the co-chair of the 2021 NASPAA annual conference. He serves on the editorial boards of several top-ranked public affairs and nonprofit management journals including the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. He has provided expert guidance to the Office of Management and Budget, the Government Accountability Office, the Department of Defense, the U.S. Coast Guard, the World Bank, and a range of philanthropic foundations. As part of his executive education teaching and research he has worked extensively with senior leaders in government, nonprofit, and business organizations in China, India, Russia, Singapore, and Thailand.
Van Slyke’s book, Complex Contracting: Government Purchasing in the Wake of the U.S. Coast Guard's Deepwater Program (Cambridge University Press, 2013) is the recipient of the American Society for Public Administration Section on Research Best Book Award for 2014 and honorable mention for the Public and Nonprofit Section of the Academy of Management best book award for 2016. His most recent book is Toward a More Strategic View of Strategic Planning Research (Routledge 2023). He received the 2015 Distinguished Alumnus in Public Administration and Policy award from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany, and the 2007 Best Article Award published in the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. He has been interviewed and his work cited in a range of media outlets including the Associated Press, Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Government Executive, Defense Industry Daily, Governing, and National Public Radio among others.
Van Slyke earned a Ph.D. in public administration and policy from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany, State University of New York. Prior to becoming an academic, he served in project management and team leadership roles in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.